Registration to this forum is free! We do insist that you abide by the rules and policies.

Welcome to Gearslutz! This forum is a destination for the friendly and helpful sharing of information about audio recording and production techniques, the use of recording equipment and experiences in the world of music, audio, post-production and more.

Gearslutz.com uses an “infraction points” system to help regulate the forum. If you break our rules, you may only receive a warning (which should be considered a friendly reminder not to do whatever you did again) - or you may receive an infraction. Most infractions are worth one point, but in some serious cases may be worth more than one. If you tally up 3 or more points you will find your forum membership suspended automatically until you contact a moderator/administrator - you will be asked to explain your actions.

Please read over this document, as it forms the ‘backbone’ of the 'infraction' system, and importantly your use of the forum constitutes acceptance of the rules stated here. NOTE: although we cover some things here, if you are a dealer, distributor, manufacturer etc - please visit our FAQ for additional rules of conduct you are required to abide by. If in doubt, please contact GS administrators for more information. Thanks!

The most important rule here is to treat all other members with respect and remain civil at all times. Personal attacks, ridicule of opinions, "goading" of others, generally rude behaviour and abuse will simply not be tolerated.

1. Only one user registration is permitted per person. The creation of multiple user IDs may cause ALL existing IDs to be suspended.

2. Please only start threads ONCE and in the correct forum. Threads or posts cross-posted in multiple sub forums may ALL be deleted. In addition, please do not 'bump' multiple threads with the same response - pick the most appropriate place for your post and post it in one place only.

3. Please take care as to which subforum you are starting your thread in. Posting a thread in a forum which is obviously the wrong place (e.g., asking for help with a DAW installation in the Studio Acoustic forum) may cause your thread to be deleted.

4. Please stick to the topic at hand - off-topic posts will be deleted and you may be banned from threads and/or entire forums for repeat offenses. It is OK to be critical of a product but if you go on and on and on about it, especially if the topic isn’t related to your criticism then this will be considered “off-topic.”

5. Please do not alter any text appearing within the ‘[QUOTE]’ markers when you quote someone else’s message in reply. Doing so may lead to your being banned from the thread. You may delete/remove text from a quote that may be irrelevant to what you are responding to, but inserting new text, changing existing text or in any way 'altering context' may lead to your being banned from the thread.

6. Politics and religion are prohibited topics on Gearslutz. This is an area where we take a zero-tolerance stance - please take your political and religious discussions elsewhere. The same applies for "serious social issues" which may turn into political or religious discussion.

7. We do not permit “producer or engineer so-and-so sucks” type threads. “Slagging off” others in the industry, especially established veterans is forbidden. In addition, you are not permitted to “bash” (comment negatively) about any artist, producer, engineer, genre or musical style. We take a zero-tolerance stance on this. You may discuss music, positively and (politely) negatively in the ‘All About The Music’ subforum, but ‘name-calling’ others in the industry is not allowed.

8. Anything that can be construed as “pro-piracy” (software and/or music) is not permitted. This includes request for “cracked” software, request for support for obviously “cracked” software, suggestion to use “cracked” software, copy protection circumvention discussion, and even naming products which you know to be “cracked” or where to find said “cracks.” As a member of the anti-piracy trade group IMSTA, Gearslutz takes this subject very seriously - posts will be deleted and no warnings will be issued - you WILL receive infractions.

9. “Mac vs PC,” “Native vs DSP,” “Dongle vs Serial Number” and similar threads are strictly forbidden. In addition, “trolling” ‘Mac’ or ‘PC’ specific threads will not be tolerated (for example, if someone posts “what is the best PC for Pro Tools” please do not post “A Mac!”)

10. Please do not offer or link to for-sale or for-trade items or services in the forums..

Please also note that at this time we are not allowing 'Kickstarter' or similar type 'crowd funding' links anywhere on the forum. This is because we do not have the resources to do 'due diligence' on projects and even successfully-funded projects are often not seen through to completion, leading to disappointment for investors.

11. If you are a dealer/distributor/manufacturer/company rep of any kind for a pro audio, music or post-production related firm, please familiarise yourself with the rules that apply to you in our FAQ. As a reminder, anything that can be construed as posts which only exist to generate clicks/links or sales are absolutely prohibited. Also, if you post any sort of inter-company bickering, call for ‘halt of trade’ or air any other “dirty laundry” between another dealer/manufacturer and your company then you risk exclusion from the forum.

12. There is a ‘Deal Zone’ area (in the 'Marketplace') in which both users and approved advertisers can post links to special offers/"bargains" or group buys. Please post relevant information there - but please note that we do not allow the publication of “deals,” discount offers, “group buys” or similar in any other forums (this goes for anything posted by companies OR end users). Similarly, asking where you can find “the best deals” or the best price on items is also not permitted anywhere on Gearslutz due to the fact that it only encourages shilling/dealer price wars and all-round problems. If you are unsure about any of this or are interested in more information on how this works please PM Whitecat or email [email protected] for more information.

13. Do not harrass or insult other members via the Private Messaging system or via the “E-mail User” proxy service we offer. Doing so may get your account banned permanently.

14. You may post grievances you are having with companies, dealers, etc - but you may not “call out” companies or people by name in your thread title. Please note we may edit or remove these threads/posts without warning. Please only post this type of thread if all other avenues of resolution are exhausted and a suitable amount of time has passed. For example, national/bank holidays, trade shows etc can influence shipping and communication time - be sure that you’ve taken everything into account first. If you have any doubts please contact a moderator first.

15. The Gearslutz.com user base is comprised of people from all different backgrounds and skill levels - from people who just bought their first audio interface today to seasoned award-winning professionals who have forgotten more about their craft than some of us will ever know. Please allow “newbies” find their way without pressure and ridicule - we were all “noobs” once - and give them the help that they need where you can. By the same token, please respect that some of our “senior” and well-respected forum members did not get where they are today by knowing nothing. Please show appropriate respect, even when you disagree with them. If you are seen to be “driving away” more senior members it is likely your access will be restricted! Additionally, although this is an English-speaking forum and we require posts to be in English, please tolerate imperfect spelling and grammar from our non-native speaking members.

16. You may not post any private correspondence on the forums (this includes e-mails and/or private messages, and especially details of legal disputes and/or court papers received via the forum or elsewhere).

17. You may not “fish” (recruit) for users/readers for any other pro audio forum or blog. If you are caught doing this you risk account suspension and the URL will be added to our “censor” list.

18. You may not “fish” for “work”/offer to mix or master for free or ask/offer any similar services in the open forums. Please use the Member Services Directory (it’s free!) to list your services.

19. Please do not post ‘check out this mix!’ or ‘advice requested on my song!’ type posts in the open forums. There is a Work-In-Progress / Advice Requested subforum for this purpose. Posts of this type outside of that subforum will be deleted and warnings/infractions issued.

20. Please do not criticise the forum moderators/leaders on the open forums. Our moderators are volunteers who are trying to make the forum a better place in their spare time. If you have a problem with any of the moderation team or a suggestion on how they can perform their moderation duties better then please send a Private Message to Whitecat (the Community Manager) who will look into it, or alternatively you can post questions or concerns in the Forum Help & Suggestions member's sub forum.

21. Threats, abusive language, ‘NSFW’/inappropriate content/links and general“trolling” will not be tolerated.

22. Spam posts - if you stumble across a post which is obviously spam/generated by a spambot, please do not reply to the thread. Simply use the 'report' button and a moderator will take care of it. Spambots don't care what kind of sarcasm you write back at them - their sole goal is to populate search engine results with their garbage, so by replying to those posts you are probably making the problem worse.

23. Please keep your forum “signature” tasteful and as subtle as possible. Posts from users with annoyingly large, “rude” or complex signatures are more likely to be ignored by other members. Please also refrain from including anything political or religious in your signature, you will be asked to change it and may lose your "signature" privileges.

24. By the same token, please ensure that if you choose to use an 'Avatar' (the picture under your username) that it is in good taste, "SFW" and adheres to forum guidelines - no profanity or adult content is permitted. The same applies for any images linked or uploaded to posts you make or uploaded to your User Profile page.

25. The community works best when its members self-police - please use the ‘Report’ button on posts in order to bring them to a moderator’s attention. You can use this for everything from spam reporting to abusive member conduct to even reporting posts that are obviously in the wrong place. Please do not abuse the ‘Report’ function (and it's most certainly not to be used simply because you disagree with another user). We rely on reported posts to help police the site so thanks in advance for your help!

Please treat others like you would like to be treated - healthy arguments are absolutely welcome but if they get out of hand your forum access may be put at risk! Please note that you can “block” users via an ‘Ignore List’ - you can quickly do this via a drop-down menu under the user's name on any given post (click once and you'll see an 'Ignore User' function, and the list can be modified by clicking ‘User CP’ at the top and then ‘Edit Ignore List’ on the left side. Please use this feature if another user is causing you problems that cannot be solved by simply ignoring them yourself. Please also do not engage with anyone who is obviously "trolling" - any posts you make which 'quote' the "troll" may be permanently deleted without warning, even if they otherwise include valuable information. Use the Report button and the Ignore List instead!

Hopefully these rules are self-explanatory but if you are in doubt about anything, please contact a moderator first before posting and we’ll guide you down the right path.

Finally, please note these rules are subject to continual revision and update, and we recommend you check them out occasionally to stay up to date.

Thanks for hanging out at Gearslutz!

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Although the administrators and moderators of Gearslutz will attempt to keep all objectionable messages off this forum, it is impossible for us to review all messages. All messages express the views of the author, and the Gearslutz, will not be held responsible for the content of any message.

By agreeing to these rules, you warrant that you will not post any messages that are obscene, vulgar, sexually-oriented, hateful, threatening, or otherwise violative of any laws.

The owners of Gearslutz reserve the right to remove, edit, move or close any thread for any reason.

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